As a veteran, Dee was used to working as a unit under challenging conditions to achieve a mission. Back home, she was about to meet the team that would help her execute a deeply personal one: finding a safe and permanent place to live.

There was just one major roadblock standing in the way of her housing mission: her credit.

“My credit wasn’t good at all,” she recalled. “I pulled my credit, it was like a stagnant 540ish… and I just wanted the best interest rates to use my VA loan.”

Determined to find a solution, she visited the Veterans Affairs (VA) office and asked if there were any programs available to help her improve her credit. Her VA counselor referred her to Operation HOPE, setting a multi-stage financial recovery mission into motion.

Step One: Financial Triage

Dee’s journey began in early 2024 with Operation HOPE Financial Wellbeing Coach Jessica Hamel. To get the mission underway, it required a level of vulnerability that stops many people in their tracks: complete financial transparency.

“I didn’t really want to ‘go there’ but she made me feel comfortable about being transparent,” said Dee. “It was a real awakening, and she showed me I was throwing money away.”

Going through her bank statements line by line with Jessica revealed that minor “impulse buys”—$2 here and $4 there—were bleeding her account of $600 to $700 every single month.

To break the habit, Jessica acted as her financial drill sergeant, establishing a strict and tactical budget plan. Together, they mapped out specific actions:

• The Cash-Only Strategy: They agreed on a rigid limit of $300 in physical cash for her monthly spending. By using cash instead of swiping a bank card, Dee successfully eliminated her impulse buying triggers.
• Prioritizing Savings: They set a goal to pledge $200 a month directly into savings.
• The Debt Crackdown: Jessica initiated three-way calls with collection agencies to confront roughly $2,800 of debt that spanned a handful of old accounts. Using her financial expertise, Jessica helped Dee successfully negotiate those balances down, settling the entire debt for just over $300.

Dee’s discipline paid off. Even when natural disaster struck and Hurricane Helene forced her to temporarily relocate to South Carolina, the budgeting plan kept her finances safe. At that time, she had amassed a $4,000 safety net after starting with only $5.

Step Two: Passing the Baton to Complete the Mission

Once the initial groundwork was laid, it was time to pass the baton for the next phase. Jessica transitioned Dee over to her colleague, Jason Biederstadt, who is a Homeownership Coach. He was based in Dee’s new hometown and Jessica knew he’d bring the energy the veteran needed to keep moving forward.

For Dee, this new partnership took the journey to a new level. “His energy and my energy… it feels like me and Jason were in battle together,” she shared. “Jason is like a family member… He’s like a brother from another mother.”

While Jessica helped clear the field of debt, Jason focused on building up her financial armor. Working together as a unit, they took concrete actions to advance her credit profile:

• Building Credit: Jason helped her strategically add a new credit card to expand her revolving credit and optimize her score specifically for the homebuying process.
• The Pyramid Method: To create long-term credit stability, Jason used the analogy of a pyramid to build a strong foundation first. “Each time you make a good decision in your life, it’s a brick that you get to put in your pyramid,” he explained.

Dee’s credit score skyrocketed from that stagnant 540 all the way into the 700s with the support of her Operation HOPE squad. She is now positioned with a newfound financial strategy to make sure her VA loan application is an instant win. “I know my credit is there, so I know with my credit I can work anything. I’m very happy about that,” Dee said.

Looking back, she recognizes that the hardest step was simply choosing to be vulnerable and transparent about where she was struggling. Now, she wants her transformation to serve as a blueprint for others.

“If you are not vulnerable with yourself, then you will never know where life could take you if you were literate about credit. We spend all our life trying to find a way, and credit is right in our back pocket the entire time… So, the first thing to open up doors for your life is to understand credit, and Operation HOPE is the way to do that.”

For more information: OperationHOPE.org. Follow the HOPE conversation on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.